Christmas Newsletter 2020

Dear Ladies and Gentlemen,

first things first: Our Newsletter will no longer be available in 2021 and will be replaced by our international Newsletter “Compass”. In a globalizing world and with constantly changing EU-directives in Europe, we want to expand our focus from national to international. Click here to subscribe to the new newsletter from European Recycling Platform/Landbell Group: Compass!

European Recycling Platform is participating in a consultation of the European Commission regarding the shipment of waste. The results shall be integrated in the new Waste Shipment Regulation. Furthermore, the EU is planning new regulations regarding batteries and accumulators. This program is an important aspect of the green deal and climate neutrality until 2050.

If your company isn’t just acting local, but underlies the extended producer responsibility internationally, the legal guidelines concerning environmental compliance may be complicated – our Regulatory Tracking Reports will definitely help you. With the help of these reports, also developing countries like South Africa, Jordan and Moldavia are supported. By providing this kind of support, we help them implementing extended producer responsibility in their country.

The application phase for the Green Alley Award is already over and the number of registered start-ups is impressive. Continue to scroll down, to know how the award provides an essential contribution regarding sustainability and protection of resources.

And finally, there are news from Germany: A new founded take-back system for batteries by DS-Entsorgung has just been introduced and is ready to start.

We wish you relaxing Christmas holidays and a Happy New Year!

Your ERP Austria Team

EU contributes to consultation of waste shipment

The European Commission conducted another consultation regarding shipment of waste, in which the European Recycling Platform (ERP) contributed. The results shall be integrated in the planned revision of the Waste Shipment Regulation.

The consultation shall especially answer the question how the legal conditions must be adapted in order to support the transition to a circular economy in the best way. Furthermore, the commission wants suggestions of the stakeholders how the unlawful export of waste to third party countries can be avoided and how the execution of regulations can be overall strengthened. ERP thinks that the transport of waste within the European Union shall be facilitated, especially transports intended for recycling or preparation for reuse. Different regulations in different EU-countries prohibit waste to be transported where it can be recycled best. According to ERP, the same is valid regarding the export of waste to third party countries. If it is guaranteed that the environmental standards are fulfilled at the recycling facility, export shall still be possible. The planned strengthening of the enforcement is fully supported by ERP.

New EU legislation for batteries 

Batteries play an important role in our daily life. They secure the proper daily usage of lots of products, devices and services and guarantee a reliable source of energy for our society.

Not all batteries are collected and properly recycled at the end of their lifetime. That increases the risk of releasing hazardous substances and simultaneously is a waste of important resources.

The EU legislation is implemented with the battery directive and aims to protect, to preserve and to improve the environment by minimizing negative influences of batteries and accumulators.

These measures are important for the implementation of the European green deal and contribute to the specified zero-emissions goal. They stimulate sustainable competitiveness and are necessary for clean energies and for reaching climate neutrality until 2050. The proposal considers social, economic, and ecological questions in relation to all types of batteries. The following items are included in the program:

• Batteries put on market within the EU shall be sustainable, efficient, and secure during their whole lifecycle.
• Advancement of sustainable competitiveness in Europe. That means obligatory requirements for all kinds of batteries.
• Ensuring of legal certainty
• Minimization of environmental impacts by batteries
• Requirements and target setting for the content of recycled materials as well as for collection, treatment, and recycling of batteries.
• Conversion of batteries of electric vehicles shall be eased
• Use of new IT technologies and a linked data network for secure data exchange.

The press release of the EU regarding sustainability of batteries can be found here.

More Q&A regarding the directive for sustainable batteries can be found here.

Regulatory Tracking Reports for manufacturers and distributors

More and more countries follow the European regulations approach of extended producer responsibility (EPR), which puts the responsibility for the disposal of waste on the producer of the product.

It may be difficult for obligated companies not to lose the overview regarding the increasing number of regulations, reporting and financial duties on the topic of EPR. Therefore, Landbell Group offers orientation in form of Regulatory Tracking Reports.

• The reports summarize laws, regulations, and important information regarding extended producer responsibility (EPR).
• They offer a resume of the legal status quo and an analysis of producer responsibility regarding product design, labelling, consumer information and takeback duties.
• The reports cover all three waste streams (WEEE, Batteries, Packaging) and are available for more than 100 countries.

Depending on individual requirements, we offer different types of reports. For more information, have a look at our Regulatory Tracking Video or check out the Landbell-Group homepage.

Landbell Group supports countries worldwide

Landbell Group has great experience and runs more takeback and compliance systems than any other company worldwide. The multilingual international team and the network of experts support countries worldwide in setting up compliance solutions.

Countries with no or little extended producer responsibility are oriented towards European countries and try to implement EPR with their help.

In South Africa, Landbell Group was already active in the past: With long-time experience and considerable expertise we organised workshops and exchange of knowledge in order to provide help. Despite South Africa’s waste management playing a pioneering role in the region, the recycling quota of 34 % is far away from the goals of the government. More information is available here.

In Moldavia, the concept of extended producer responsibility was introduced in the year 2016; the directives for Waste of Electronical and Electric Equipment followed in 2018. Finally, in August this year, the directive for packaging and packaging waste has been introduced, which is oriented towards the EU-directive. Moldavia is one of many countries supported by Landbell Group. Our reports analyse the newest developments and requirements regarding the topic of EPR in over hundred countries worldwide. More about this topic is available here.

In Jordan there is still no EPR until today, neither for WEEE nor for packaging or batteries. Due to increasing waste amounts, the authorities have just begun setting suitable laws in motion. If these laws are implemented, Jordan would be the first country in the Arab space that has such directives. Jordan is also covered by Landbell Group’s Regulatory Tracking Reports. More information can be found here.

189 applications for the Green Alley Award

The application phase for the Green Alley Award 2020/21 ended on November 17^th. We are happy to announce that we received a total of 189 applications. The Green Alley Award team is going to study and investigate these applications and will then decide which ideas are going to make it to the final.

For the whole team, especially this phase is extremely exciting, because once more they get to see the positive contribution of the award and the innovative business ideas for environment, economy, and society.

Together for a cleaner environment

For the building of a circular economy, the cooperation of lots of different players is needed. Politics must create necessary regulatory conditions, just like the European Union did it with the new Circular Economy Action Plan.

The goal is to create long-lasting and sustainable products, which enable the public to proactively take part in circular economy and to profit from its advantages.

This is where start-ups come into play: “We need start-ups as drivers for innovation to develop these alternatives”, says Dr Thomas Fischer, Head of Market Intelligence and Governmental Affairs at Landbell Group.

Giving waste a new value

2019 Green Alley Award winner Gelatex Technologies is a great example of a circular economy solution: the Estonian start-up convinced the jury with their sustainable alternative to leather. The Gelatex material is mainly made from second-hand gelatine derived from the waste of the leather or meat industries.

The process of selecting the finalists has begun. Which of the 189 ideas will make it to the Grand Finale in Berlin? Check out the Green Alley Award website for all the latest news.

DS Entsorgung establishes take-back scheme for batteries

Landbell Group company DS Entsorgungs- und Dienstleistungs-GmbH has set up a new take-back scheme for waste portable batteries in Germany, which is operating from its headquarters in Mainz. The scheme was approved on October 1^st, 2020 by the responsible authorities and is now in operation throughout Germany.

The battery law requires producers of portable batteries to ensure proper take-back and treatment of waste batteries that are collected by retailers and other collection points. To comply with these provisions, producers must join a take-back scheme.

As a recognised specialist in facility waste management and the take-back of transport packaging, DS Entsorgung will now complement its services by ensuring producers comply with their legal obligations under the country’s battery law. Therefore, they contribute to the nationwide collection and proper recycling of waste portable batteries.

More information on the new battery take-back scheme can be found here.

We hope you enjoyed the last edition of our newsletter! We want to continue to broadly inform and entertain you. Therefore, we warmly recommend to you our international newsletter “Compass”. Sign up here!

Thank you for your loyalty and your interest!

Sincerely,

Your ERP Austria-Team